Voltage regulation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In electrical engineering, particularly power engineering, voltage regulation is the ability of a system to provide near constant voltage over a wide range of load conditions. It is a dimensionless quantity defined as:
where Vnl is voltage at no load and Vfl is voltage at full load. A smaller value of VR is usually beneficial.
The quality of a system's voltage regulation is described by three main parameters:
| Parameter | Symbol | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Line regulation | Sv | Measure of the ability to maintain a constant output voltage, regardless of changes to the input voltage |
| Load regulation | Ro | Measure of the ability to maintain a constant output voltage, regardless of the size of the system's load |
| Temperature dependence | ST | Measure of the ability to maintain a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in temperature of electrical components within the system, especially semiconductor based devices. |
Sometimes, the term voltage regulation is used to describe processes by which the quantity VR is reduced, especially concerning special circuits and devices for this purpose, voltage regulators. Voltage regulators are an important part of power systems and power supplies.
[edit] See also
zener diode as voltage regulator
